Show Your Work! How to Make a Digital Portfolio

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Show Your Work! Authored by Steve McCrea 8.5" x 11.0" (21.59 x 27.94 cm) Black & White on White paper 52 pages ISBN-13: 9781499515350 ISBN-10: 1499515359 Please carefully review your Digital Proof download for formatting, grammar, and design issues that may need to be corrected. We recommend that you review your book three times, with each time focusing on a different aspect.

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Check the format, including headers, footers, page numbers, spacing, table of contents, and index.

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Review any images or graphics and captions if applicable. Read the book for grammatical errors and typos.

Steve McCrea and Mario Llorente Once you are satisfied with your review, you can approve your proof and move forward to the next step in the publishing process.

with contributions by Dennis Yuzenas, Ben Staley and Matt Blazek

To print this proof we recommend that you scale the PDF to fit the size of your printer paper.

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Contents

Copyright 2014 by Steve McCrea and Mario Llorente ISBN-13: 978-1499515350 ISBN-10: 1499515359

Show what you can do with what you know.

The words of the contributors appears here with their permission. Proceeds from the sale of this book are shared with Building International Bridges, BIBPenpals.com and other educational organizations, such as High Tech High. Your purchase promotes the transformation of education. This book includes images from Ben Staley's portfolio. We are grateful.

WHAT is a digital portfolio? Show me an example of a DP. WHERE do they use Digital Portfolios? High Tech High WHAT goes into a Digital Portfolio?

Hello, Everything looks good to me. I am happy to help with your project and I hope my work can help others. But keep in mind that the DPs are actively used by teachers in their curriculum. This can sometimes leave room for inconsistency and can make things a little confusing. This is why I created a blog, which I use as a place for work that does not have a clear home. In the future I should probably have a better solution to the problem but for now that's all I got. If you need anything else, please let me know.

HOW do We Store the Digital Portfolio? How To Set Up the Web Site Suggestions by Ben Staley, student at High Tech High How to Use Google Drive How to Set Up the Youtube Channel How to Connect the Channel to the Site

Ben

How to Create Your Blog Using Blogger This book shows you how to present a collection of school work. The system is based on a gmail account, but you can make similar portfolios using other methods.

WHEN? How frequently should I update my Digital Portfolio? What Else Do You Need?

Start with: a gmail account.

WHO supervises the growth and shaping of the Digital Portfolio?

Now you have 15 Gigs of storage on Google Drive. If you are stuck and you can't think of projects, consider searching for “Matt Blazek CD Projects youtube” and go to the website by Dennis Yuzenas at www.WhatDoYaKnow.com. They use projects in their classes. See how Dennis gets started with “Dennis Yuzenas Youtube projects”

Contributions Dennis Yuzenas: Essential Skills Matt Blazek: Projects Mario Llorente: An Exercise with Quotations

Let's get started.

More Examples of Digital Portfolios

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Show what you can do with what you know. Here's the main idea: Most students have a transcript showing what courses they took and their “grade point average.” A typical transcript looks like this:

Go ahead: go to www.TINYURL.com/ExampleDP. You will see the student's work.

If you want to see portfolios in your classroom, keep reading.

Would you like to read the actual essays that earned these grades? Would you like to see examples of the student's work?

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The un- and underemployment rate among college graduates is 44 percent. Tony Wagner Minute 7:12 https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=E4DTaTd8_nE

22% are unemployed, 22% have jobs that do not require a college education. At minute 37 in this presentation, Tony Wagner describes a digital portfolio. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4DTaTd8_nE He recommends PathBrite as a platform for using portfolios in education.

– “We live in a three-dimensional world, but the average person only has access to tools that represent their skills one-dimensionally” from the PATHBRITE blog http://pathbrite.com/2012/03/

How to go farther: Tony Wagner points out that the main challenge for students is to “do something” with what they know. It's not enough to show us what you know. You need to do something with that knowledge.

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WHAT is a digital portfolio? The main idea: Show me an example of a DP. Go to www.TinyURL.com/ExampleDP This is the “tiny link” to Ben Staley's DP. Here are some screenshots and comments about the DP.

This is a system for organizing digital portfolios that Tony Wagner mentioned in his Youtube talk.

Please note the features of this portfolio: Tabs showing each grade level. A tab for “blog” (where he put items that didn't fit elsewhere in the portfolio and where he could reflect on his learning) A tab “about me” which could include a link to a Facebook page (if the student wants the attention). The home page has a slide show, which is visually interesting. Something that I'd like to see: (a) Videos to describe aspects of his work. I'm curious: What does he think about the process of making a portfolio? Sure, an essay is better than seeing the grades listed in a transcript... but now that I have his essay in front of me, why can't I hear him describe how he struggled to assemble the parts? (b) What did he throw out and how did this essay lead him to new insights? What new projects did he pursue as a result of writing this essay or doing the project?

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WHERE do they use digital portfolios?

High Tech High When I go to the High Tech High web site, I see a list of schools and each one has a section for portfolios.

This slideshow on Ben's portfolio is visually engaging and clever. The text that describes the photo even drives me to click deeper in his portfolio. A professor at Stanford has pointed out:

some schools, districts, and states are developing more robust performance tasks and portfolios. – –

Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond click here to give her article a hit: www.TinyURL.com/darlingDP

Look at the list of high schools. I visited the first in the list (Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs) and clicked on the digital portfolios. The page showing digital portfolios gives lists by classes.

Are you inspired to put portfolios to work in your school?

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The designs of the portfolios vary.

WHAT goes into

The Digital Portfolio? Here's the main idea: You can put almost anything into a Digital Portfolio. The idea is to show your work and show your abilities. Here's a checklist Item

Check

Essays Posters Powerpoint presentations Report cards Photos and photo albums (photos of projects) Videos (describing the work) Blog (to describe the process of building a DP) A “junk mail” email address** Some of the portfolios are just lists of PDFs to download.

Divisions by grade level (to show progress) Audio files

Some portfolios are private (access is restricted to people who have permission to view them). Items to leave out

XXX

Home address and phone number Your favorite email address Facebook account link

** Why is it recommended to include a “junk mail” email address? Your portfolio might be interesting to other students (at other schools) and you might build useful connections with future colleagues. Who knows? Perhaps a project that you did in ninth grade could attract attention of a person who someday becomes your future employer. “I remember a teenager who was interested in genetics. Let's see... where is her email address?” If you give your favorite email address, you might be swamped with unsolicited email (junk mail).

I found Ben Staley's portfolio after clicking through several examples.

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HOW do we store the Digital Portfolio? How to Set Up the Web Site

How To Set Up the Web Site Suggestions by Ben Staley, student at High Tech High

Here's what Ben Staley wrote (when asked for his system and secret to making a template):

The Adobe Master Collection is a series of programs used to manipulate photos and videos. I edited pictures and made others and implemented them into my DP. In the edit section of Google sites for any of the standard templates, you can replace images and settings. I recommend your students research using something like YouTube. The basic idea is find something you want to replace. Use something like Photoshop or Illustrator (programs included in the Adobe Master Collection) to manipulate, create or enhance an image. Then find that section of the page in the template settings and replace or add the image you created. As a general rule of thumb for any graphic creations, I recommend a limited color palette. To much color can distract from information and gives the onlooker a sense of messiness. I learned most of what I know about Google sites from online tutorials, so that's what I recommend you do. Thanks, Ben Staley

Here's the main idea: The front page of the digital portfolio shows the key categories of the DP. This image comes from tinyurl.com/exampled: It was created on Google Sites. https://sites.google.com/a/hightechhigh.org/bsdp/

Mario and Steve are grateful to Ben for his time and we request the following action from the reader: Can you take two minutes and please visit his site? Go ahead and contact him with your thoughts about his DP. His email is [email protected].

Tinyurl.com/ExampleDP

<<< a link to Ben's Digital Portfolio.

Here are some links found on Youtube.com to describe methods for altering templates.

How to change from one Google site template to ... - YouTube Apr 19, 2013 - Uploaded by OITCommunications You can change from one Google site template to another on sites you own following these steps.

Google Sites: Modifying an Existing Template ... - YouTube

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How to Use Google Drive Here's the main idea: You get at least 15 Gigs of free space when you sign up with Google for gmail. You can put videos, PDFs, word documents, photos and other digital files on this place.

Click on the up arrow and see FILES

How to get into Google Drive

1. 2. 3. 4.

go to gmail.com enter your account (with password) type in “drive.google.com” you will see this page How do we find the LINK to the stored file? Here's what you see when you click on a file in Google Drive

This is a photo that I have stored on my Google Drive

This page shows several folders that I've uploaded.

To download it, I hit the symbol on the right corner. (The little man with the + next to him). Show Your Work

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You will find the link in BLUE. Use that link when posting in your website (the portfolio).

Click on “public.” Then click on “save.” The blue link can be placed as the link connected to a word on the Sites page (in your portfolio). For example, the file which I uploaded for this book (in an early version) is held at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxOBI_rp54liR3NBZ0hlcjR3M3c/edit?usp=sharing You can put this link behind the word “Click here to download” on your portfolio.

Notice the setting for “who has access.” The default is PRIVATE. Click on “Change” to make it public so that anyone can see your essay in the digital portfolio (if you want this feature).

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Here's what you will see:

How to Connect Your Youtube Channel to the Site Here's the main idea: Add a video to each page of your DP so that readers can click and hear something about your process of selecting the projects. Videos can also add information that some people might skip (why not make a summary of the projects that you have selected?). Steps: a) Set up a Youtube Channel. When you get a Gmail account, you qualify for a Youtube Channel (Google owns youtube.com). b) Record a video and upload the video. c) Grab the link to your video. Put the video on your Google Sites page. d) Open the page where you want to put the video. e) Look for the menu item called “Insert” and scroll down to “Youtube video” f) Insert the link to your video and click SAVE.

Slide the mouse cursor over to “YouTube” – when you click, you will see the following screen:

Your video can be nestled next to text or it can be “stand alone” with text above and below the video. If the video is embedded in the page, it will show with an arrow for the reader to click. These icons appear on the upper right side of the editing screen in Google Sites. Click on the PENCIL icon (for “editing”).

Next, find the place where you want to insert the Youtube clip.

Paste the URL (the address of the YouTube video) in the long box. Click on “Insert”

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There you are!

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Here is an example of how I placed a video onto my Digital Portfolios TinyURL.com/SteveDP https://sites.google.com/site/stevemccreasdp/

To create a link to the next page, HIGHLIGHT a word and then look for the LINK symbol (between “A” and the outline numbers)

When you highlight the word, the link coding goes into the word that is displayed on the page.

Here's how the front page of my DP looks

Click on “Create new page” to create the new page on the website.

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How to Create Your Blog using Blogger Here's the main idea: Digital Portfolios can appear to be a list of projects. What might be added to make the portfolio tell more about you and your thinking and your thought process? Suggestion: Use a blog. Ben Staley points out that he uses a blog to put information that he doesn't know where to place in his portfolio. If the information doesn't fit into a category, then make a blog post and put the information there. Two popular ways of creating blogs: Wordpress

Give a name to the page in “New page title.”.

Click on “Create page” and the link to the new page is active.

Blogger (also called blogspot.com) Blogger works with a gmail account. When you are signed into your gmail account, you type “blogger.com” and the Blogspot page opens. You can find videos to guide you through setting up a blog by searching on Youtube “how to set up a blog using blogger”

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How frequently should I update my Digital Portfolio? Here are some thoughts from Ben Staley: Initially I thought about how to do everything digital. True High Tech High provides an environment where that is encouraged but I have always loved technology and I have always wanted to excel there. Digital media and technology excite me so I have devoted my time and efforts to it. Over the years I have noticed in a classroom setting that the primary inhibitor when it comes to class digital portfolios is a lack of effort. Students will often see that something often doesn't work the first time and they will quit. In the real world things often don't work the first time and personally I think that's a good thing. It is that struggle and that experience that have allowed me to grow into a better person over all. It is not the use of technology at High Tech High that inspires and creates better students, it is the creation of a problem-solving and intellectually stimulating environment that has personally taught me and created so many creative and innovative students.

This is the page where you create the name of the blog.

At High Tech High there is no class that teaches students how to use Google Sites or the Adobe Master Collection. The teachers present those tools as tools and the students solve problems with them. Knowing how to use Google Sites is not going to prepare students for the real world; knowing how to teach themselves how to use Google Sites (and learn from peers) is going to prepare them for anything life throws at them. That is the true lesson of project-based learning and that is what we are doing at High Tech High.

Ben used his blog to capture some information that he has. Some of the entries include “reflections” or thoughts about the learning.

Thank you, Ben Staley

Suggestion: Show appreciation for well-constructed digital portfolios Visit the site often. See what the student has added in the past month. Post the link in your social media with positive comments

You can see more of Ben's entries at tinyurl.com/staleydp https://sites.google.com/a/hightechhigh.org/bsdp/blog

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Example: “I just visited this digital portfolio. I hope to use some of the features that I found in this DP. It's worth your time to see this website. Here's an interesting "presentation of learning" at High Tech High in San Diego http://alyssaabeytadp.weebly.com/pol-12.html”

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How to contact students at High Tech High You can contact any student at High Tech High simply by inserting the first letter of their fist name followed by their last name @hightechhigh.org (example: Ben Staley [email protected]) I would be happy to help students with their digital portfolios however I am going to have a hard time doing so with college applications and a job over the summer and then senior year. I am doing three honors classes this year and I plan to do the same next year which is no easy feat. I am also a member of the school robotics team Team 1538 The Holy Cows which is a whole other commitment. Point being with all that stuff I don't know how helpful I can be. (From an email by Ben Staley. I asked if he would be available and willing to share some of his tips about digital portfolios. If you decide to write to Ben or any High Tech high student, here's a suggestion: keep the requests short. Every student that I've contacted has replied within a week and they are very conscientious about returning messages. I have a tendency to send overly long messages and some students are overwhelmed by the amount of reading. High tech high students tend to be busy. I've included some of Ben's email to show you why some students might not have time to respond to requests for tips).

What Else Do You Need? Here's the main idea: Put something on your digital portfolio if that “something” adds to the description of “you.”

Tony Wagner talks about “Skill and Will”... so what can you do to show that you have “initiative”? I created a program called YourNetImpact.com. That's an example of initiative. I grabbed a unique dot-com (godaddy.com for $8 per year) domain name. I set up a web page. I created a youtube video to support the page I created a Facebook page I spread the links to friends.

(from Ben Staley)

Here's another example (and I encourage you to document your activity as a user of the Internet). I captured a song by Evan Frankel. I pout the video on my youtube account and I asked friends to click. This will help Evan.

Here is the FIRST YOUTUBE PERFORMANCE of “Senior Discount” by Evan Frankel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQvurn_qVH0&feature=youtu.be please click and give the hits, likes and comments What can you capture on your smartphone? If you don't have a smartphone, can you use your social skills to persuade me or a teacher or another person to lend you their phone? What can you say in the post on Facebook to invite people to click? What is your impact on the Internet? What is your Net Impact? Www.YourNetImpact.com.

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WHO supervises the growth and the shape of the Digital Portfolio? Answer: The students should supervise their own work. It's helpful if peers give feedback (“Hey, when are you going to put up that project from ninth grade?”). But the digital portfolio speaks about the school and the effectiveness of the teaching method … so teachers can take time to visit and guide the shape of the DP. This page is for teachers. I have found that it helps to have a checklist of students and make it a habit of visiting each student's page at least once a month. Get out the check list and go to each page.

Contributions My life has been enriched by others. I am particularly grateful for the words of these people. Gordon Dryden: An example of the citizen-educator, the taxpayer who is concerned about investing in youth. See his Vimeo Interview https://vimeo.com/34017592 TheLearningWeb.net. Enrique Gonzalez: His presentations in the series of videos produced by Erik Friedl are the backbone of my teacher-training workshops. Search “Erik Friedl School Remaking” on YouTube.

https://sites.google.com/site/myaiglon/Home/gd‎

Gordon Dyke: He is remembered by students as someone who cared about them. See MyAiglon.com and search for “Gordon Dyke” http://tinyurl.com/gordondyke

Jeraldine Saunders told me that quote about “we tend to move toward that which we dwell upon, so let's dwell well.” I've altered it a bit. Roy Watts: Whatsoever things are pure, honest, just, true, lovely, of good report. Think

on these things.

Faith Conger: The Saint Francis piece. “Let me understand.” One of my students told me, “We are here to serve each other.” That's what the login address is for ELSLeaders.com's youtube channel. [email protected]. Go ahead, send your favorite quotes to that address. Youtube.com/WeAreHereToServe is one of the school's youtube channels. Another student told me, “You say that you will not live to see the transformation of education. What do you mean? You can see victory in the faces of your students.” Janus Kayman McCrea: “The adventure continues.” Her column TheNewsCocktail.com presents highlights that I have missed. Her awareness of useful stories in the media have made my classes relevant and interesting to students for more than twenty years. She found the books by Alan and Barbara Pease. She recorded the Brain Game by Nancy Snyderman (which I've shared with hundreds of students). She also teaches that it is always a good idea to record and take photos in the highest quality possible, so keep a lot of extra photo chips available.

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Dennis Yuzenas: Essential Skills

Matt Blazek: Projects

Here's the main idea: Tony Wagner (from Harvard University) talks about skills. Why not develop skills in yourself ?

Why are Essential Skills an integral part of this class? The World History class at Oxbridge Academy is a challenging course that focuses on integrating and incorporating 21st Century Skills across all curricular disciplines. Descriptions of what constitute essential 21st century skills are plentiful. As society changes, the skills needed to deal with the complexities of life also change. The 21st century skills framework was developed using the latest research from a variety of sources and include:

Here's the main idea: Digital Portfolios are worth putting together when you have great projects (projects worth sharing and showing). Here is the foreword of Matt's book about projects. There are many approaches to teaching and learning that are used within our classrooms. Some methods are more effective than others overall and others are often disparaged. Project based learning happens to be a style that comes under intense scrutiny and ridicule at times, often being thought of as the lazy way out for teachers because the student is expected to complete the project to learn instead of the teaching preparing and delivering lessons.

(1) technology literacy (2) financial literacy (3) health literacy (4) employability skills (5) civic literacy Within this 21st century skill framework there are common strands, or learning skills, that will allow students to thrive in the world of work and to be productive entrepreneurial citizens. Tony Wagner, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a guest at an Oxbridge sponsored symposium held this past summer at the Palm Beach Convention Center, labels these "survival skills" as (1) critical thinking and problem solving; (2) collaboration and leadership; (3) agility and adaptability; (4) initiative and entrepreneurialism; (5) effective oral and written communication; (6) accessing and analyzing information; and (7) curiosity and imagination. Wagner proposes that schools use academic content to teach these skills at every grade level, and be accountable for a new standard of rigor. (Wagner, 2008.)

The link to ALL the TED Talks! http://www.TED.com National History Day www.NHD.org If you're someone that wants to develop your Essential Skills personal skill set go here: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_00.htm To bring forth creative inspiration, your first objective is to settle yourself within a motivational and relaxing environment that naturally stimulates the creative thought process. For further insights and ideas on how to create this environment, have a read of Developing Smart Study Habits. Creativity-- http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hot-thought/201005/how-be-creative This is where this guide comes. By using this guide, the aim is to eliminate the ‘easy way out’ stereotype that has come to represent project based learning. The intent of projects according to this guide is for students to demonstrate mastery of a topic in a personal way- through an

Your Brain!: http://discovermagazine.com/2011/mar/24-the-brain-the-trouble-with-teens

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independently researched and personally created project. Hence the title: Project Based Learning: Making it Personal. Traditional models of lecture and test, which have come to dominate education in this age of standardized testing, do not adequately prepare students for life after school. The workplace does not rely on multiple-choice tests to gauge success. Instead, it measures performance through the ability of the person to complete and master assigned tasks, often with little guidance. In this sense, the person must become an expert on the topic of their work (whether it is the menu at McDonald’s or the load calculations for a new bridge) and be prepared to demonstrate that expertise at any time for employers or clients. Essentially, life is one huge project that begins at birth and ends at death. Only at rare occasions outside of educational system will a person ever need to master the five paragraph essay or the test-taking skills necessary for success on multiple-choice tests. Instead, a person will have to repeatedly demonstrate mastery of the skills needed in their field through the completion of projects or tasks in a timely and efficient manner. So let’s get away from the lecture and test mentality and move back into reality. It is time to truly prepare students for life and not merely prepare them to attend educational institutions. Real world skills need to be emphasized and mastered so students are able to move into the next stage of their lives. Let’s put the student first and change education for the better by following through on the purpose of this book: MAKING EDUCATION PERSONAL!

determined prior to beginning a project assignment, otherwise the project is once again the ‘easy way out.’ This is where the teacher becomes the most important component of the project because you are the guide. While the project does allow for autonomy from the student in selection of a particular method or topic, the guidance and support of a teacher is vital to successful demonstration of skills. Once key skills have been chosen (I suggest beginning at research and documentation with oral presentations and then adding more skills), it is time to decide how to achieve those ends- backward planning. When backward planning, begin by asking a few questions:  What prerequisite skills are required?  Are the skills developmentally appropriate?  At what level does a student perform these skills?  What is the progression of levels in the skill?  What scaffolding is required? When these questions have been answered, determine if the project is even possible for the current students. There is a difference between high expectations (a high school class learning calculus) and unachievable expectations (a sixth grade class learning calculus). If the skills are developmentally appropriate, begin planning and teaching the required lessons for learning the prerequisite skills. Once the skills are achieved, present the project.

Grading Rubric It is important for students to understand the goals of projects before they begin their project. Considering that it is impossible to be successful without having clear expectations established, each project discussed also includes a suggested grading rubric. There are several important features to each rubric. The first is that an explanation of each category is provided as well as the performance expectation of the category. Additionally, when students receive their final score they will be able to receive consistent feedback because it is already provided by the rubric. Finally, it decreases bias and allows for several different people to provide grades that are consistent because the standards are clearly stated. A project should never begin without an established rubric. Knowing what is required for differing levels of achievement is motivating to students because they know what demonstrates competence and are also aware of the effort that is required to reach each level, providing some autonomy.

What is a Project-Based Learning? Project-based learning is a constructivist approach to education that emphasizes existing beliefs in personalized education, application of research regarding effective methods for teaching and learning as well as reflection on the learning process. Every subject area, every course and every concept can use a project. Projects are limited only by the imagination. While there are many ideas within this guide, the list is by no means exhaustive, definitive or rigid. Rather it is incomplete, open-minded and malleable- shape these ideas and concepts to fulfill the particular needs of the classroom. If we want students to be creative and novel in their applications of knowledge it is only logical that their teachers utilize the same approach.

Project Structure When beginning a project it is important to first identify what the goals are for the project- what ends are going to be achieved the means of this project? Demonstration of concepts and subject-specific knowledge is a given in education, so that should never be the end for a project. Maybe research and documentation is the most important skill that will be demonstrated or maybe the goal is generate effective group cooperation. Whatever is chosen as the key skill or skills to be assessed needs to be Show Your Work

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Another key aspect of the rubric is to eliminate the ‘filler’ required of the standard 90-80-70-60 grading scales that are used. Ask yourself this question and seriously consider its implications:  Why is there more variability in an ‘F’ by percentage than all other grades combined? Show Your Work

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This philosophy makes little sense. Using a rubric allows for a clear differentiation of levels of performance, from below expectations (a ‘D’) all the way to superior (an ‘A’) in meaningful but small increments. It will be noticed that a scale of 0 – 8 is used in most cases, but a 0 – 4 or even a 0 – 12 could easily be substituted. This allows for differentiation within a mark-band as well as a simplified grading process that can translate quickly to a standard percentage skill. As an example of the 0 – 8 scale, a score of 0 a rubric equates to an ‘F’ and is basically stating that there was no attempt or no demonstration of the criteria for the skill in question, 1 – 2 is a ‘D’ because an effort is shown that may meet some rudimentary aspects of the criteria, and so on for the remaining mark-bands within the rubric.

Mario Llorente: An Exercise with Quotations Here's the main idea: By writing and thinking about quotations, we show our understanding. Record yourself reading and analyzing your quotations.

Mario’ s four-part use of quotes

To order Matt's CD for Projects, write to [email protected]

Quotations are effective ways of engaging the mind with “scaffolding” (support). By asking the student to focus on someone else’ s excellent thoughts, we assure the student that it is time well spent. The student will receive the reward from that effort and might turn to look at another quote.

You can find the video demonstration of Matt's CD by searching YouTube at “matt blazek portfolio projects” or go to http://tinyurl.com/mattblazekdp

Exercise 1 The teacher has ten quotes and ten interpretations. The teacher asks a student to read the quote and then asks students to work in pairs and small groups to figure out what the quote means. Procedure: A student reads a quote and asks, “What does this mean?” The students then discuss in pairs and small groups. The teacher can model an example, if necessary. Exercise 2 The teacher has ten quotes and eight interpretations. The students try to match the interpretations with the quotes. The students work in pairs and small groups. Procedure: A student reads a quote and asks, “Who has the interpretation of this quote?” Another student answers, “I have it.” Then the group listens to the interpretation and decides if the match is correct. Exercise 3 Now the students have to find the quotes in a list or book that the teacher provides. Procedure: Each student then builds an interpretation of the quote, writes the interpretation, and the interpretations are shuffled and distributed. The group then tries to match the student-written interpretations to the selected quotes. Exercise 4 In the highest level of the game, the students WRITE their own quotes. They make up something that they have never seen written in that particular way. (This stage is fairly advanced and is suited for older students.) Procedure: Each student also generates the interpretation, as in Exercise 3, and the quote and interpretation are separated, shuffled and distributed to the teams as in previous exercises. This activity is described on Youtube at “Mario Llorente quotes”

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Mario: The activity itself is less important than what happens later. A student who has heard an important quote, which is a highly distilled idea, will probably think about that idea later that day or when the quote is seen on a wall. The definition and interpretation of that quote will resonate in the student. Four or five days later, you’ll say, “Do you want to play the game of quotes?” and they’ll say, “Yeah!” What quotations should I list? ANSWER: You decide. Your choice of quotations speaks volumes about you. People will read the quotes and respond to your choices. What type of people do you want to attract to you? Choose those quotes. Where can I find “good” quotes? ANSWER: You can look through the QBE list of quotes about education to start. You can see the Quotations of Dr. Deming that I compiled to highlight and introduce the thoughts of Dr. Deming. You can go to Brainyquotes.com and type in a subject like “education” and “inspiration” and “independence” and “diligence.” Why should I use Mario Llorente's exercise? ANSWER: Consider the difference between listing quotes and making commentaries about the quotes. If you take the time to INDEPENDENTLY complete this exercise, you are telling future employers that you have INITIATIVE and that you have independent thought about these quotes. You aren't simply repeating what you think other people want you to say. You have taken time to restate the thoughts in your own words and you have applied those ideas to your life and your philosophy about life.

An optional addition to your DP... I've never seen a Digital Portfolio with a list of “my favorite songs” or “songs and poems that inspire me.” However, i've seen Digital Portfolios with “blogs.” Why not create a list of quotes and songs “that inspire me” with commentaries to demonstrate your independent thought? What music are we likely to hear if you happen to leave the sound system in your car on “loud” and you open your car door? Will your choices in music inspire people who visit our company (where we have hired you)? Why should I put a list of “songs that inspire me” in my Digital Portfolio? I would have asked you to list your favorite songs, but that would be dangerous. I don't want you to have songs that include profane language. “Gangsta's Paradise” is a song to inspire teachers to personalize the academic work. Pink Floyd's anthem is important for teachers. If you put “Another brick in the wall” in your list, you are telling people that you agree with the transformation of education, that you want a personalized approach to learning. You agree with the lyrics: Teacher, leave those kids alone! Songs on my smartphone might be another way of listing what you listen to. Future employers can look through the list to see if there are any “embarrassing” songs. If your smartphone's speaker is broadcasting one of your songs loudly, will your songlist embarrass the company or organization? My colleague and mentor Mario Llorente quoted the following lyrics from Gangsta's Paradise (from memory – Mario memorized these words). He opened my mind to the value of certain rap songs (which are clearly well-crafted). I am inspired by the lines that I have highlighted here. Power and the money, money and the power Minute after minute, hour after hour Everybody's running, but half of them ain't looking What's going on in the kitchen, but I don't know what's cookin'

They say I gotta learn, but nobody's here to teach me If they can't understand it, how can they reach me I guess they can't, I guess they won't I guess they front, that's why I know my life is out of luck, fool Been spending most their lives, living in the gangsta's paradise

In general, rap songs appear to be the result of “freestyling.” Some (like Paradise) benefitted from careful re-writing that matched emphasis to the syllables. Song-writing is a discipline of matching rhyme to rhythm of speak. The waltz rhythm of ONE two Show Your Work

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three, ONE two three can be heard in the pattern of My Favorite Things. That was apparently composed carefully. My hope is that more of these careful compositions can be found. I look forward to being told about other rap songs that have a positive message and that don't use coarse language. The song by Tech N9ne “Get the F*$#@ Outta Here” is an example of what I don't want to see in your list of “inspiring songs.” That's a song that would embarrass me if I were to hear it. The songs words do not lift me up and I don't want that song in my presence.

Part of my digital portfolio is the work that we posted on the walls of the school's cafeteria. Here are some signs and posters that one of my students (Ronaldo Meza) produced.

Here are some photos to show that I worked in Florida City, Florida.

Isn't that where we can remind students about what's imporatnt? What goes up on the walls?

Part of a portfolio is the connection between the work and the community. These city workers brought me joy every morning during my commute. Show Your Work

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Some additional notes With better organization and with some added attention to how to present this information, I would have found a better place for these “random” and “scattered” points. If you are in a DP seminar, you would get these points at some part of the seminar. You are invited to suggest additional items about “what makes a good DP” and “what should be included. I just wanted to leave you with some points that have inspired me to do better. Gordon Dryden directed me to look for an editorial in the Economist and he was particularly interested that I should read the quote attributed to Winston Churchill about short words.

My tribute to Daniel Amen See “12 Prescriptions Brain Health Amen”

Please visit Gordon's website and look up his book, which is free to read on the Internet. Called The Learning Revolution. Why not give his site a hit? TheLearningWeb.net.

Here's evidence that science can be fascinating. (Ms. Wajida Quresh at work)

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To Teachers Something that Tony Wagner mentioned... If you are looking for projects, look at these Youtube videos What do Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook), Bonnie Raitt and Edward Land (inventor of the Polaroid instant camera) have in common?

“Matt Blazek CD Projects youtube”

They all dropped out of Harvard University.

www.WhatDoYaKnow.com: See how Dennis gets started with “Dennis Yuzenas Youtube projects”

Here's a transcript of a class by Dennis Yuzenas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK2up6IxCjY “We're looking at the Civil War. We're focusing on the Battle of Gettysburg. How did we get to Gettysburg? It starts as early as the War of 1812, when the New England states wanted to secede because they didn't want to be part of the War with England (the war disrupted economic relationships with England). When South Carolina seceded, they took a page form the New England playbook from 1812. We're making those

http://mentalfloss.com/article/27290/9-other-famous-harvard-dropouts Robert Frost, William Randolph Hearst, Matt Damon, Pete Seeger (songwriter), James Connally (Olympic triple jump gold medalist in 1896), R. Buckminster Fuller, and Elisabeth Shue (actor in Leaving Las Vegas).

connections.

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Another project is about the Alamo. The Alamo is all about slavery, right? It was about the spread of slavery into Texas, but nobody says that. There's a way to teach the history and make the connections.

The connection between “projects” and “Digital Portfolios” is clear: We can't promote Digital Portfolios if we don't assist the kids in creating and completing excellent projects (that the students will be proud of). Why create a DP if the projects that are in the DP are not filled with passion? Www.TINYURL.COM/YuzenasTips In a phone interview with Dennis, I pulled the following tips:

TIP: “If you save your powerpoint as HTML, it will work on any platform, on any computer.” 2:50 in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=vK2up6IxCjY

In the video some students responded to this question: Do you prefer videos over textbooks? Yes, we have to put more faith in ourselves to complete the project. IT's more fun to do projects. A textbook is routine and boring. That's what I learned from watching videos, not textbooks! Go to Minute 4:20 My journey into using projects began when I saw the enthusiasm of students in Mr. Y's classes. I thought, “But how do I get started? How do I keep control of the class? What could go wrong?” and I continued to organize my classes around lectures. The key to grab from this mini-talk by Dennis (captured in September 2010) is to see that he has given his students gradually more freedom and responsibility through the year to the point where they can select five projects form a list of 17 projects. He calls it the “5 of 17 sheet” and it's not for the beginner. I have encouraged Dennis to record his mini-lectures that he gives to prepare students for taking on projects and he has invited teachers to watch the method. It starts with one project, with guidance from the teacher and eventually students are “on their own” with the support of the guide on the side. Show Your Work

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– Everybody should know how to put together a web page. You can even use Microsoft Word to make a “plain Jane” version – You make an index of a “book” (the portfolio is like an ebook). – You need a scanner or a camera. Use them both – Video a live presentation and incorporate it – Save text as HTML or PDF and include it in the portfolio. – A parent can help collect pieces for the student's portfolio. – “We could have a visual catalog for every student.” – Assessment portfolios are easy. Here are 8 writing samples. – If you can dream it, you can include it. – Where do you store it? External hard drives in the classroom. – How do you grade it? Rubrics communicate standards. If you do xxx, you get a “1” (Unsatisfactory), if you do “XXXXX” you get a “4” (Superior) – Student aides can put the student work at the end of the school year on a CD. – “We should be able to have samples of a student's work so we can see the growth.” – When we look at student work, that's how we find the joy of learning – The kids in my classes laugh at what they did at the beginning of the year. “I can do better than that!” – Why don't we do more portfolios?

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An Opportunity to Improve Assessment Systems
...The assessments developed by two new multi-state consortia could move us toward more informative systems that include formative as well as summative elements, evaluate content that reflects instruction, and include some challenging open-ended tasks.

END NOTEWORTHY Here's the main idea: it appears to make sense that showing more of a student's work will make it more likely that a student will be accepted into a university.

These assessments, though, will not include all necessary tasks and skills for students, such as long-term research and investigation tasks or the ability to communicate orally, visually, and with technology tools. These kinds of tasks are needed to develop and assess students’ abilities to find and use information to solve problems, explain different approaches to a problem, and explain and defend their reasoning. That is why some schools, districts,

A future edition of this book could include interviews with admission officers of universities, to ask “What impact have digital portfolios had on your decision making? Has there been a case where you decided to offer a place at your university to a student because the student's portfolio persuaded you that his or her work was special?” A future edition might also include quotes from Linda Darling-Hammond and other advocates of the use of portfolios as part of the assessment process.

and states are developing more robust performance tasks and portfolios as part of

multiple-measure systems of assessment. …. Multiple measures could include: Classroom-administered performance tasks (e.g., research papers, science investigations, mathematical solutions, engineering designs, arts performances);

Portfolios of writing samples, art works, or other learning products;

To Parents: Here is an important paragraph that you can study and perhaps show to the principal and teachers at your child’s school.

Oral presentations and scored discussions; and

Portfolios of writing samples, art works, or other learning products;

Teacher rating of student note-taking skills, collaboration skills, persistence with challenging tasks, and other evidence of learning skills.

Oral presentations and scored discussions Here is the key paragraph (reproduced here with the aim of driving you to visit the web page):

These activities not only engage students in more intellectually challenging work that reflects 21st century skills, they also serve as learning opportunities for teachers, when they are involved in using the assessments and scoring them together. – L. Darling-Hammond

When it comes to student testing in the United States, it is clear that changes are needed. [Dr. Darling-Hammond quotes some polls...]

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These words were taken from the article by Dr. Darling-Hammond located here: https://www.naesp.org/principal-januaryfebruary-2014-assessments-evaluations-and-data/testing-andbeyond-common-core

Thank you for reading this far (or bravo for skipping to the back page to get the summary of the book).

Click on tinyURL.com/darlingdp http://tinyurl.com/darlingdp

This book has showed you pieces of what goes into making a Digital Portfolio. It is clear that this effort was made easier with the input from Ben Staley, a student at High Tech High School. Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to support that school. Well... The book is priced to sell near to its cost of production via CreateSpace.com, which is a valuable resource for anyone making a digital portfolio. The pages of the DP can be put into a word document or PDF and sent to CreateSpace.com.

In an assessment portfolio, a student includes artifacts to show that they have met the objectives for the course. (stating at minute 2:01 in the video “Portfolio Assessment” on YouTube channel punkrawkrules36. “Often used to supplement traditional forms of assessment.” “Students are encouraged to construct their own learning and take responsibility for it.”

Here's a photo of some of my students working on their digital portfolios.

It takes a large amount of time. Schools often lack the resources, software, computers, training skills to implement the system. Portfolios allow students to show what they know in a variety of ways. The portfolios encourage students to take ownership of their learning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sihIwdjGY0o

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Here's an invitation: Please send your comments and suggestions to [email protected] and [email protected] If you create a DP, send the link and we'll post it for others to see in the next edition of this book. Go ahead, give Ben's DP another click. http://tinyurl.com/exampledp Hit the High Tech High website and click on the Digital Portfolios http://tinyurl.com/hightechhighdp

Here's the High Tech High DP page.

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